


along midnight shores

by mossdeepmusings



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beach, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, and they're smitten with each other, dojae are textmates, falling in love by the beach is something i think about a lot, some genshin impact references because i basically spend my life in teyvat now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:07:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28792911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mossdeepmusings/pseuds/mossdeepmusings
Summary: Doyoung's doesn't know how to act when he sees Jaehyun in the flesh after months of just seeing him in pixels.Jaehyun doesn't know how to respond when he can no longer spend five minutes reviewing what he's about to say without seeming inattentive.And vice versa.Or. Doyoung and Jaehyun try to build their friendship (and romantic relationship) outside their tiny virtual bubble.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung
Comments: 11
Kudos: 53





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! this is the first thing i have ever written my whole life (except papers for school lmao), therefore, it's also my first time posting my own work on here. i'll add more tags soon as i write this. it'll probably reach 15k...who knows. i'm a fairly new nctzen so there might be some inaccuracies in some tiny details about the members. anyway, this is me trying to write dojae
> 
> p.s. this is unbeta-ed, please be kind :)

Doyoung has his feet hanging on the edge of the bed and his head propped against a stack of pillows, mindlessly trying to belt out a song he recently discovered, reading the lyrics from his phone.

It’s an hour before they set out for Taeyong’s birthday celebration and he regrets that he didn’t even get a couple hours of sleep to keep him more interested with what Taeyong had planned to do at the beach than dozing off on the fresh, downy-looking duvets he saw when they were looking for places to stay at.

“Hey, Johnny just called. He said Jaehyun’s coming!” he hears Taeyong announce from outside his room.

 _What the fuck._ Doyoung panics, realizing what Taeyong just said, cracking his voice when he tries to hit the climax of the ballad he has been practicing. He has already conditioned himself to let loose this weekend, to relish the few days he’s free from the shackles of his tireless anxiety from trying his absolute best not to completely reduce his slim chance of impressing Jaehyun and getting together with the love of his life.

Doyoung rushes out of his room in a frenzy.

“What? I thought you said he can’t go. Taeyong, you told me he had a thing, and he wasn’t going. I even asked him the other day—” he cries out despite the image of his perfect beach getaway being torn to shreds.

“Relax. I also thought so, but Johnny just told me that Jaehyun’s coming cause his thing got cancelled.”

“But…I haven’t prepared. All my good clothes are in the laundry. I—”

“Doyoung,” Taeyong interrupts rather sternly. “We’ve talked about this a million times. You won’t turn Jaehyun off. He doesn’t even know you like him. He won’t pay you any special attention,” Taeyong affirms, returning to his room, visibly annoyed with Doyoung’s whining.

Doyoung pretends his chest doesn’t ache a little at Taeyong’s forthright declaration of the truth. He knows that his best friend is right; he has been since the first time he had told Doyoung that Jaehyun is unaware of his sad romantic feelings.

Taeyong had been diligently reminding him that Jaehyun has no clue about Doyoung’s feelings and that he shouldn’t care about what he appears to be to Jaehyun anyway because being himself should be enough for someone to like him. Doyoung calls bullshit; he thinks being disgustingly in love with Johnny has rid Taeyong of his ability to empathize with single people. _To hell with couples._

It’s not like Doyoung was really averse to the idea of Jaehyun joining the vacation. In fact, he’s exceptionally elated that he might actually get to talk to the younger again after almost a year of just talking through text messages. His head just doesn’t grow tired of making him want to curl up into a ball at any mention of Jaehyun’s name.

Doyoung has liked Jaehyun for quite a while now. He had liked Jaehyun from the very moment he offered to walk with Doyoung to the dorms after every philosophy class of the only semester he has ever shared with him. He had liked Jaehyun when he told Doyoung that he has a nice voice after he had been caught humming once. He still likes Jaehyun now when they text each other good night after complaining about how they despise it when Taeyong and Johnny snuggle every time they watch a movie with them in their respective apartments.

What confuses Doyoung is why they haven’t hung out since that semester ended. Although walking together for barely ten minutes and chatting about their philosophy professor’s exasperating method of teaching for one term do not count as sufficient reasons to extend their friendship beyond the classroom and the worn-out brick sidewalk they had hiked on, their enthusiastic conversations on the phone seem enough encouragement to be friends in the flesh too. Plus, the fact that their roommates are dating significantly increases the probability that they would see each other every once in a while.

Doyoung backtracks. He knows why they haven’t seen each other again. Apart from mere misfortune, it’s because he declines Taeyong’s countless invitations to hang out with the three of them at Johnny and Jaehyun’s apartment. Although it’s not his place to expect Jaehyun to be the one to arrive at his and Taeyong’s place instead, Doyoung wonders why Jaehyun hasn’t once accompanied Johnny when he comes to see Taeyong. Does Johnny invite Jaehyun? If he does, does Jaehyun refuse? Doyoung is clueless.

He knows another one of his faults though: he can’t muster up the courage to ask Jaehyun to come hang out. Before, he was simply worried about making a fool of himself. Now, he’s terrified that he might do something to hint at his now undeniable romantic feelings for the other and make a fool of himself, ultimately demolishing his plans of confessing and having his feelings returned. Not that he already has concrete plans to carry out his confession, he just wanted to guarantee that he had a decent chance to actually having Jaehyun like him back.

He wanders back to his room, quite defeated but more thrilled that he’ll get to see Jaehyun in the flesh after months of just seeing the tiny circle that cradles his adorably handsome face in their chatbox. Anxiety be damned. He decides that he won’t let Jaehyun’s presence spoil his beach getaway. He knows he’s lying to himself, but he surrenders the thought for now.

Doyoung takes a shower and prays to the universe that when he comes out, he’s glowing in a way that when Jaehyun sees him, he’s going to be the one being confessed to and he wouldn’t have to take on the seemingly insurmountable challenge of being the one pouring his heart out.

He puts on an oversized dress shirt and his only remaining pair of shorts and collects his luggage to put them in the van Taeyong had rented for the trip. He saunters to the living room, sensing the inevitable drowsiness due to his unwise decision of staying up the whole night trying to perfect this one ballad he was preparing to sing for karaoke night.

“Taeyong, I’ll catch up on sleep in the car right now! Wake me up before we arrive at Johnny’s!” he yells. Unsure that his best friend had heard him, he lazily grabs the keys and teeters to the van, hoping the twenty minutes to Johnny and Jaehyun’s apartment would be enough to compensate for his lack of sleep.

/////

It’s oddly quiet when Doyoung stirs. He struggles to open his eyes to the glaring sunlight on his face. _Thank god_. He figures that he must have had at least two hours of sleep considering they left at five in the morning. Doyoung lifts his head from what felt like someone’s shoulder piercing his cheeks, wipes off the dried saliva on the edge of his lips with his shirt, and rubs his eyes to figure out whose shoulder just had the unfortunate fate of catching his drool. He completely forgets that there was a reason why he asked Taeyong to wake him up.

“Good morning, hyung,” the man’s voice says soothingly.

Doyoung would have tried to fix his sleep-addled consciousness for as long as he could if it weren’t for the revolting dread he feels coursing through his body as he remembers how alarmingly familiar and gentle that voice sounded like. Doyoung wants to slide the door open and let himself crash into the blistering asphalt or just magically plummet to his death.

He turns to find Taeyong snoozing beside Johnny while he drives. Oh, how Doyoung wants to ruin his best friend’s birthday, ruin his life, even. It’s the first time in almost a year that he will see Jaehyun again and he drools on him. _It’s over_ , he thinks. He has been reduced from the lowly position of casual text-mate to something abysmal Doyoung doesn’t even know himself.

“J-Jaehyun. Hi,” Doyoung looks at Jaehyun, his voice trailing off. 

“Hey, hyung. Long time no see,” Jaehyun replies with the most charming smile Doyoung thought he had already been desensitized to. Crinkled eyes, round cheeks, and _dimples_. How can Jaehyun look so frighteningly handsome? Granted, he hadn’t seen the younger in a very long time, but Doyoung’s trapped in a daze, in a hubbub of embarrassment, desire for vengeance, and awe, it’s acceptable to lose all sense of his surroundings and just gape at the princely figure in front of him.

“I—”

“Happy birthday Taeyong-hyung!” comes the uproar led by Donghyuck when he slides the door open, interrupting Doyoung from what gibberish he was about to offer Jaehyun and causing Jaehyun to look behind himself.

Taeyong is startled awake and turns around to see their friends when he catches Doyoung’s vengeful glare. He spots Jaehyun and understands. He looks at Doyoung with a doe-eyed apology and rapidly avoids Doyoung’s dirty look to acknowledge their newly arrived friends.

“Thanks everyone. Put your stuff in the back so we can set off,” Taeyong almost mumbles, clearly rattled by Doyoung’s piercing gaze.

Thankfully, Jaehyun is distracted by their friends’ arrival and chats with them as they scramble to put their luggage in the car. He doesn’t need to witness Doyoung trying to murder Taeyong. Taeyong mouths an apology to Doyoung like he didn’t just single-handedly bury his best friend’s dignity.

Doyoung lets out a yielding sigh; he’ll have to settle for making Taeyong pay for room service as revenge. What needs his utmost attention right now is figuring out how to remain composed for the rest of the trip. Out of all the second-first-meeting scenarios Doyoung had conceived, it really had to be something not on that list and unfortunate like this.

Everybody gets into their seats except Sicheng, who Doyoung spots finishing stacking his bags and walking back to enter the car. He looks at Jaehyun with a knowing smirk and gently elbows him, clearly teasing him about something. Doyoung can’t catch how Jaehyun reacts to that, but when he turns around to face Doyoung again, Doyoung is caught off guard. _How does a face like this exist?_

“Hi, Doyoung-hyung.”

“Jaehyun,” Doyoung replies softly, “why didn’t you tell me you were going?” he hopes that didn’t come out aggressively.

“Oh…sorry about that. The thing I had got cancelled the last minute, so I had to pack and everything and forgot to tell you,” Jaehyun says apologetically, his gaze dropping.

“Wait, no, no. That’s totally fine! I just didn’t expect you to be here, is all. Not that I didn’t want to see you here, I just…uh…yeah…didn’t expect you to be here,” Doyoung has lost his ability to form coherent sentences. “If anything, I should be the one apologizing…you know, for drooling on you. I was running on zero hours of sleep and Taeyong didn’t wake me up. God, I’m so sorry, Jaehyun. How long was I asleep? Why didn’t you wake me? Is your shirt dry, of course it isn’t, I have an extra—”

“Hyung. It’s fine. I swear. You looked like you were having a peaceful nap,” Jaehyun chortles, amused, “so I didn’t wanna disturb. It’s going to dry anyway. You don’t need to give me a shirt...and I can't change here.” Doyoung doesn't miss the faint smile that forms on Jaehyun's lips.

 _Oh god._ Doyoung feels like he can’t go any lower. What was he thinking, offering Jaehyun an extra shirt as if they’re not in a moving car? Now, Jaehyun thinks that Doyoung wants him to change in front of him.

Before Doyoung can even speak and further embarrass himself, Johnny tells them that they’re still a few hours away from the resort. Everyone seems quite spent, so no one’s really making noise, not even Donghyuck who looks worn-out, leaning on Mark and sharing earphones with him. Sicheng, Taeil, and Jungwoo are asleep, while Yuta’s fiddling with his phone. Taeyong’s back to dozing off, probably trying to avoid Doyoung’s wrath.

“Everyone’s tired,” Jaehyun says plainly. “Aren’t you still sleepy, hyung?”

“Not anymore, really.” _And it’s because of you._

Jaehyun just nods to that and slouches, closing his eyes with a purse-lipped smile that Doyoung doesn't notice. Despite the conversation ending, Doyoung thinks it’s for the best. At least, he won’t humiliate himself anymore for the remainder of the trip. He’s hyperaware of the immobile figure inches away from him who just happens to be the man he has been smitten with for a year now.

Doyoung marvels at his tranquil face and considers poking his cheeks just to confirm that Jaehyun truly exists beside him and isn’t just a figment of his romantic daydreaming. _God, he’s so pretty._ He decides against it and opens his phone.

**doyoung [8:33 a.m.]**

sorry again. for sleeping on you…and the drool. i’m so embarrassed :(

Doyoung sends the message before realizing that Jaehyun’s phone might ping and rapidly tries to turn his phone’s airplane mode on. The Sent mark appears under his message, and Doyoung just prays that Jaehyun’s phone is on silent. Doyoung is on a roll today. Unfortunate events stacking up.

When Doyoung doesn’t hear noise apart from the hushed sounds of Johnny’s eclectic playlist, he exhales a sigh of relief and continues to casually text Jaehyun random musings he comes up with as the ride goes on.

**doyoung [8:35 a.m.]**

you know..the view from this highway looks like something straight from an rpg

it’s kinda cool. feels like i’m in genshin impact lmao

wait do you play genshin impact

i hope you do

wait no. actually

i’m ordering you to do so

>:^)

_3h 25m_ is what appears on his phone when he checks how far they still are from the place. Doyoung feels grateful that he hadn’t been inducted into the designated driver list. He stretches, careful not to hit Jaehyun, and yawns. Seems like he is still sleepy. Maybe having to go through one of the most demeaning experiences of his life didn’t shock him enough to spare himself from the inevitable exhaustion not sleeping for a whole night brings.

Doyoung looks over at Jaehyun who still hasn’t moved from his uncomfortable-looking slouch and gawks at him for a good ten seconds. He still can’t fathom that someone looks like this in real life. Jaehyun is surreal. Doyoung blinks himself out of his stupor. It would be creepy to stare at the other for any longer.

Fatigue seeps in, and Doyoung surrenders to it, his head falling onto Jaehyun’s bony shoulder the second time around.

Jaehyun smiles.


	2. two

Jaehyun feels guilty about cutting their conversation short. He swears that he would have loved spending the whole trip talking to Doyoung, but it’s the first time he has seen him in months, and he’s pretty sure that he won’t be able to resist blurting out his adoration for Doyoung’s exposed collarbones. The best thing he can do without the jitters completely taking over is give a weak nod and pretend to sleep. And that, he did.

Like clockwork, images of Doyoung clad in an oversized shirt with most of his chest exposed pop out of his head, instantly followed by Doyoung’s flushed face when he had offered Jaehyun a change of clothes. It’s quite cruel how Jaehyun has to keep his eyes closed and his face neutral while he struggles to pick which Doyoung will overwhelm his senses.

Jaehyun feels his phone vibrate and figures that it might be Doyoung’s message. It must be. Because it’s always Doyoung.

It’s Doyoung whose message muffles the song he’s playing when he’s taking a shower. It’s Doyoung whose barrage of notifications ruin his streak in a rhythm game song he’s trying to get three stars in. It’s Doyoung whose _good luck! ^^_ keeps him grinning like a buffoon when he’s supposed to be burning the midnight oil.

His phone vibrates several successive times. _Oh, he’s excited about something_. Jaehyun itches to reply like he always does when he knows it’s Doyoung who texts.

He’s about to let the curiosity take over and drop the act when Doyoung’s cheek slams into his shoulder. Jaehyun’s getting way too lucky today.

He peeks at Doyoung’s gentle sleeping face carefully so as not to wake the older, maintaining his awkward position, which has been progressively becoming a problem. Jaehyun enjoys Doyoung leaning on him but staying in his slouch for a little longer might mean a premature trip to the emergency room. He can’t have that, now that he’s finally in the same space as Doyoung after a long time, so he gradually readjusts himself with tender consideration for the other’s head.

Thankfully, Doyoung stays asleep, so Jaehyun reaches for his phone.

**jaehyun [8:45 a.m.]**

it’s nothing, hyung. stop apologizing

also, you’re right. the view outside is pretty scenic

i’ve heard about it but i haven’t played it yet

i will try…but what’s in it for me ;)

Before Jaehyun realizes that sending a text means that Doyoung’s phone will ring, he feels a strong prod on his head. He winces and tilts his head, avoiding the side where Doyoung’s head rests, and sees Sicheng giving him a taunting smirk, both of his hands on his cheeks as though he’s admiring Jaehyun’s current predicament.

“What?” Jaehyun gripes, his voice hushed.

“I see you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Fuck you. Get back to sleep.”

“You’re planning to kiss Doyoung with that mouth?” Sicheng quips.

“Shut the fuck up.”

“Oh, so you are?”

“Leave me alone, Sicheng. I swear to God if Doyoung-hyung wakes up, I’ll gouge your eyes out myself,” Jaehyun threatens, his voice growing coarser.

“Okay, okay, I’ll leave you two alone,” Sicheng snickers. “Just don’t get a little _too_ excited,” he teases, eyebrows raised in mockery.

“You’re disgusting.”

Sicheng descends back to his seat and Jaehyun is left alone again with the luxury of Doyoung’s head pressed against his shoulder.

The teasing has got to him, a little bit. Maybe, a lot. Now he’s thinking about kissing Doyoung, losing against the urge to goggle at his ridiculously alluring face. His focus lands on Doyoung’s plump lips, then on his cheeks, his eyelashes. Jaehyun contemplates about kissing the entirety of Doyoung's face.

_God, he’s so fucking pretty._

_Pretty_. That was what he had thought of Doyoung when he first got a glimpse of him listening with furrowed eyebrows in philosophy class last year. His mind had already abandoned the class and had been wandering, giving his classmates a provisional label in case he had to approach them for group work, when his gaze landed on Doyoung.

If his life were a movie, this would have been the part where the camera dolly-zooms in on his face with his mouth agape.

When the all-knowing celestial force had decided that Doyoung and Jaehyun would have similar dorm buildings, Jaehyun did not pass up the opportunity to run up to him and ask if he could be his contact person for the class. Doyoung had gracefully accepted, and from then on, they had become acquaintances who walked home together and, eventually, friends who talked frequently in text. 

Jaehyun’s growing quite weary, having to rush his laundry until three in the morning, so he takes a last peek at Doyoung and dozes off. He hopes Doyoung’s warmth doesn’t leave him for the rest of the trip, maybe for the rest of his life, too.

/////

Firm taps on his shoulder wake Jaehyun.

He stirs and notices there isn’t weight on his other shoulder anymore.

“We’re here, Jaehyun,” Johnny tells him.

Jaehyun finally opens his eyes and realizes he’s the last one in the car. Even Doyoung is gone, which disappoints him a little bit.

“I’ll leave you the keys. The others already decided who goes into which room, and they put you there,” Johnny points to the door at the farthest right of the inn closest to the car. “Taeyong already reserved a table for us at the beach resto, so be a little quicker,” he leaves.

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be there in a sec,” Jaehyun replies, yawning one last time before he snaps out of his drowsiness. He hops out of the car and grabs his bags from the trunk, locks the car and heads to the room he’s assigned to.

There was no way Jaehyun wouldn’t rouse from the unavoidable ruckus of their arrival; he must have been really tired from yesterday’s hustle to wash and dry his clothes. Now, he must reap the consequences of losing to exhaustion and spend the rest of this vacation on an extra bed.

Johnny told him that he and Taeyong rented a room for themselves and two other rooms for the rest of their group, both of which only having a single queen-sized bed. So, that means two people from each room must sleep on an inferior mattress, and seeing that he’s the last to leave the car, he’s one of them.

He checks his phone, Doyoung’s message expectedly there.

**doyoung [12:07 p.m.]**

i tried to wake you but you seemed rly tired

so i let you have a couple more minutes of sleep :^)

**jaehyun [12:14 p.m.]**

ah, thank you hyung.

i rushed my laundry until like 3 am so i only had a couple of hours to rest

“Mark and I call dibs on the bed!” he hears from inside the room when he’s about to enter.

The room has enough space for a small kitchen and a dining area, but not quite enough for two extra beds, it seems, since they’re lined up in the narrow gap between a queen-sized bed and a console table.

“Please don’t have sex on the bed, for the love of God,” Jungwoo grumbles.

 _Oh_. Doyoung’s not his roommate. Admittedly, Jaehyun’s moderately let down by that, but at least he doesn’t have to monitor himself so much when he’s in this room.

“But we’re here for five days! How is that even possible, hyung?” Donghyuck retorts, while Mark just chuckles at his side.

“No. Get a room if you guys want to fuck. I’m not sleeping in a room that smells like cum.”

“We would if we could, but the lady from the phone said they’re out of available rooms,” Donghyuck pauses to think. “Okay, how about we do it only when you guys aren’t here? Mark, help me out. Stop laughing, I’m doing this for the both of us,” Donghyuck slaps his boyfriend on the shoulder but he just giggles at Donghyuck’s insistent pleading in pursuit of carnal satisfaction.

“Pay for room service and we have a deal,” Jaehyun interjects.

Donghyuck turns to Jaehyun. “Deal,” he says firmly before he crushes Jaehyun in a tight hug, attempting to smooch him multiple times as a thank you. Jaehyun slightly regrets his decision, partly due to Donghyuck’s pecks and the fact that he and Mark are loaded with money from their paid internships and might lavishly abuse their deal.

“You guys are fiends,” Jungwoo leaves the room.

Donghyuck plunges into the mattress and lets out a roar of success before jumping out of the bed and going outside with Mark in tow, who tells Jaehyun that he might run out of food if he takes longer.

Jaehyun doesn’t really mind eating leftovers, so he sprawls on the available bed for a while and confirms that the extra bed is indeed substandard in comparison to the cloud-like mattress of Donghyuck and Mark’s bed. He complains to Doyoung, as usual.

**jaehyun [12:25 p.m.]**

did you get the good bed

or did you also get the extra

hyung, it’s like i don’t have a mattress at all

i’m roommates with mark and hyuck so..

Doyoung sees his message almost instantly.

**doyoung [12:25 p.m.]**

i got the good bed, ha! 😜

_Doyoung is typing…_

i’m kidding i didn’t

taeil-hyung pulled the eldest card and we just let sicheng get the other half of the bed

also yuta-hyung glared at me, so sicheng it was

**[12:26 p.m.]**

are you there

i mean at the restaurant

**jaehyun** **[12:26 p.m.]**

i’m in the room still

Jaehyun spends half a minute trying to type out his reply.

**[12:27 p.m.]**

do you wanna go together

**doyoung** **[12:27 p.m.]**

_Doyoung is typing…_

**[12:28 p.m.]**

yeah, okay

Jaehyun takes a moment to absorb the situation, then rolls over the bed, burying his face into a pillow to muffle a shout. It’s strange seeing Doyoung again after such a long time, but it feels nice. Really nice.

Still caught up in the moment, Jaehyun only realizes that he doesn’t know where Doyoung’s room is.

**jaehyun [12:29 p.m.]**

where’s your room btw

**doyoung [12:29 p.m.]**

i’m here in front of your room

Jaehyun scrambles to stand up, goes to the bathroom to check his hair, and heaves a firm exhale.

When Jaehyun opens the door, he immediately spots Doyoung with his hand raised as a greeting, and Jaehyun instantly recalls Doyoung during the months they had spent together, walking from class to the school dormitories. Doyoung didn’t really wave hi or goodbye; he just lifted his hand for a second or so. It was how he had greeted Jaehyun every time. It’s incredibly endearing.

“Hi, hyung.”

There’s a flash of dead air.

“H-Hi, Jaehyun.” 

Jaehyun walks up to Doyoung, “Let’s go?”

“Y-yeah. It’s just a few meters ahead. Shouldn’t take two minutes to get there,” Doyoung says so softly, Jaehyun had to connect the only words he managed to hear.

“You wanna get rid of me that fast? That hurts, hyung,” he kids Doyoung, hoping to get rid of the awkwardness.

“No, I didn’t mean it like that!” Doyoung splutters, perceives Jaehyun’s teasing, and elbows Jaehyun, letting out a short chuckle.

Their pace is slow, walking toward the restaurant.

“Is the game good?” Jaehyun starts.

“You mean Genshin Impact?”

“Mmm-hmm.”

Jaehyun feels him light up.

“Oh my god, it is!” Doyoung breathes and proceeds, “It’s an open-world gacha RPG where you get to use these really well-designed characters. I mean, the pull rates are ugly, but the game is honestly way too good to ignore. The map is mind-blowing, I swear. There’s a variety of topographies, and you get to roam every little corner.”

Zeal radiates from Doyoung’s features, his eyes bright while introducing the game. Jaehyun heart swells when he watches Doyoung’s face contort with ire when he mentions the cons of the gacha mechanic. _Cute_. Very few words make sense for Jaehyun, but he genuinely thinks he could listen to Doyoung all day.

“The lore! It’s so extensive. Half the time, I don’t even know what they’re talking about. And it’s not even done yet! Only three maps as of now, and who knows how many more characters would there be? It updates like every…” Doyoung’s voice trails off. “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“Hey, no, I’m listening. The game seems really good. I would download it now, but I’d have to ask for Wi-Fi first. I’ll tell you when I already have it.”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

They arrive and spot Taeyong beckoning them over rather insistently due to the obvious dwindling down of the food on the table. The remaining vacant seats aren’t beside each other, so they separate, without even acknowledging each other, like strangers who just happened to walk together.

The available seats are at the opposite sides of the table, one beside Sicheng and the other adjacent to Taeyong, which could only mean Jaehyun’s seat is inevitably beside Sicheng’s. Jaehyun silently curses; Sicheng will never let him hear the end of it.

He hasn’t even fully adjusted his position on the chair when Sicheng’s goading sneer bore into him. He attempts to snub Sicheng, loading a hefty serving of ssam into his mouth.

“Did you tell him already?” The question is plain and innocent, without a hint of provocation Sicheng just had a second ago.

“Tell who what?” Jaehyun’s acts like he doesn’t know, his response coming out as gibberish due to his puffed-up cheeks.

“That you like Doyoung-hyung, obviously.”

Jaehyun chokes, rice spewing out of his mouth. Everyone halts their lunch at the sound.

Donghyuck, being the victim of Jaehyun’s volley of grains, is half-appalled and half-worried. Sicheng is on his feet, panicky. Doyoung is just as surprised as everyone else and barely has the time to exhibit emotion when Jaehyun manages to grab the drink nearest to him and chug the whole thing messily. 

“Jaehyun, are you okay?” Johnny asks with a hint of concern and laughter.

Jaehyun raises a thumbs-up. “Yeah, yeah,” he coughs, “I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Tears blur his vision, so he’s unaware of how everyone reacts to the debacle. Jaehyun’s distracted with gulping another glassful of water he’s pretty sure he took from Sicheng’s portion of the table. After a few more sips of liquid, Jaehyun gives an apology to Donghyuck, which he accepts, mentioning how fortuitous it was that he had already finished eating when Jaehyun spat on his face.

Upon recovering his composure, Jaehyun makes eye contact with Doyoung, the other mouthing _are you okay?_ Doyoung nods to the thumbs up Jaehyun gives and returns to meticulously assembling his ssam. Jaehyun then glowers at Sicheng, who looks remorseful but also a little amused.

“He could have heard, you idiot,” he hisses.

“I was quiet enough,” Sicheng retorts, “but that’s besides the point. I thought you were going to tell him already.”

“We haven’t even been here for an hour, let me live.”

“Touché. But you really can’t blame me. I wouldn’t have cared if it wasn’t for you chickening out, like, three times now and whining about it to me.”

Okay, point. Jaehyun has been dragging his feet about confessing to Doyoung.

His first attempt involved asking Doyoung out for dinner with such an indecipherable delivery that Doyoung had to make him repeat. The question had already taken a hundred percent of Jaehyun’s daily amount of nerve, so he just ended up asking Doyoung what he was having for dinner.

His other tries didn’t really materialize, given he had never pressed _Send_ to his many iterations of 1) _do you wanna come over,_ 2) _can i come over,_ and 3) _hyung,_ _i think you’re really amazing, i like you a lot and it’s driving me insane_.

Lunch ends eventually and Taeyong tells them to meet near the jet-ski station in half an hour so he can treat everyone to a ride. The heat’s still sweltering, but free jet-ski ride offers rarely present themselves for him to complain.

Jaehyun doesn’t peek at Doyoung until the group has to separate according to their rooms. He subtly waits for Doyoung to spare him a glance before their groups finally split up, but he continues to exchange increasingly heavy jabs with Yuta. To Jaehyun’s rescue, Sicheng calls Yuta over. 

Doyoung throws a final punch at Yuta, whose attention has been diverted from bickering and given to whatever Sicheng is showing on his phone. Jaehyun reminds himself to be extra nice to his best friend.

When Doyoung turns, looking for Jaehyun, he’s met with Jaehyun’s waiting smile, dimples on full display. Jaehyun catches how Doyoung’s face flinches and how swiftly his cheeks turn pink and turns away before Doyoung can even respond.

He ambles toward the room, a grin on his face and a newfound yearning to have Doyoung look at him like that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long, but i hope you enjoy this update :^)
> 
> i made a twt, come say hi. @littleroute


	3. three

On the way to the shore, Doyoung's contemplating slathering an extra layer of sunscreen on his skin to avoid being baked alive in the extreme heat. That and what seems to be embers in the guise of sand slotting into the gaps between his toes are ample reasons to rationalize postponing his first time on a jet ski, but Taeyong’s nonstop demands for him to _quit being a brat_ and come to the beach were compelling enough to comply to.

Doyoung easily recognizes the unmistakable height and hair color disparity from afar, so he jogs to approach the two figures he knows belong to Johnny and Taeyong.

“Finally,” Johnny groans. “We’ll go now,” he says, grabbing Taeyong’s wrist and pulling him toward the waiting vehicle.

“Hey, what? Wait!” Doyoung yells, shocked at the couple’s sudden abandonment. “You didn’t even give me a key!”

The only remaining jet ski is obviously for him, but he hasn’t even received instructions on how to drive the thing. Doyoung guesses it’ll probably be as simple as riding a bike, but he can’t risk not guaranteeing the exact position of the brakes and what other controls there are, especially not in a vehicle that can potentially leave him stranded in the middle of the ocean. No one’s even manning the station, so he’s reliant to his friends’ instructions.

“Jaehyun’s fetching the key from the resort lobby. He left a while ago, so he must be on his way back!” Taeyong yells back as he’s securing his position, hugging Johnny tightly.

Barely a second after the couple has zoomed off into the sea, Doyoung hears Jaehyun calling him.

“Hyung!” he lets out, catching his breath. “Were you waiting for long? The guy managing the jet skis forgot the key for this one, and Taeyong-hyung said you were already coming so I went with the guy to get the key so you wouldn’t have to wait any longer,” he explains in between intermittent lungfuls.

Doyoung should have been immune to facing him by now, but Jaehyun in his unkempt glory, his hair and his face slicked with sweat, is a new image Doyoung must grow accustomed to. _How is this man unfailingly gorgeous?_

“Do you know how to ride this thing?” Doyoung supplies, hoping he asked the question quickly enough that Jaehyun doesn’t think that he’s incredibly conscious of the allure of Jaehyun perspiring.

“The guy gave me instructions on the way, and I’ve already tried riding one before,” Jaehyun’s dimples show. “I won’t kill you. I promise,” he teases.

Doyoung can’t help but snort in amusement.

Their brief, playful exchange renders Doyoung less tense, which he’s grateful for. All of his conversations with Jaehyun so far have been, for the most part, nerve-wracking, at least for him, so he appreciates Jaehyun’s little quips.

As they make their way to the ride, Doyoung wriggles his feet, struggling to keep his sandals from slipping off. Jaehyun mounts the jet ski first, promptly offering Doyoung his hand, which he acquiesces in gripping. Jaehyun’s hands are wet, so Doyoung doesn’t feel its texture, but the strength that pulls him up has his heart skipping a beat.

“Hyung, hold onto me.”

He’s back to square one. The circumstance of back-hugging Jaehyun just registers to his head, and he slightly blames Jaehyun for the utter distraction that he is to Doyoung’s peace of mind. Doyoung really just can’t seem to repel the whole idea of Jaehyun in proximity to him from derailing his train of thought. Honestly, Doyoung should have already comprehended that a jet ski ride would entail someone embracing the other. Not that it would do anything significant to tame the butterflies, but a heads-up from his brain would have been nice.

Crisscrossing around the ocean on a sea-vehicle doesn’t really allow any room for Doyoung to complain about his dilemma, so he gives in and wraps his arms around Jaehyun, albeit rather slackly.

The engine rumbles, and they zip away from the shore. No dilly-dallying. Not even gradual acceleration. Jaehyun doesn’t hesitate to drive the jet ski like he’s competing in a race. Doyoung is quick to tighten his embrace, but he swears his soul leaves his body.

They’re going at a reckless speed, but Doyoung remains anchored to Jaehyun's torso, so he eventually recollects himself. As they go further from the shore, Doyoung gradually enjoys the manner in which the wind scrapes against his face and the very mild chill it brings when it meets the wet portions of his skin.

Jaehyun howls in cheer, “Isn’t it fun?!” Jaehyun screams, his voice dampened by the loud grumbling of the wind.

“It is!” Doyoung shouts back.

When Jaehyun slows down a little, Doyoung notices how tight his arms are wrapped around the other’s disturbingly built abdomen and how his chest is pressed against Jaehyun’s sturdy back.

He has no time to cater to his thoughts, which would undoubtedly grow progressively inappropriate if it wasn’t for his belated realization that they aren’t wearing any type of life-saving equipment.

“Jaehyun, we forgot the life vests!”

“Oh,” Jaehyun mutters. “Just hang on tight, hyung. It’ll be fine,” he adds, without any indication of worry.

“Fine?” Doyoung clamors, “What do you mean fine? Jaehyun, we’re in the middle of the ocean.” The rising of his voice almost causes it to crack.

Without warning, Jaehyun takes Doyoung’s right wrist and pulls it closer to the opposite side of his body. He does the same thing to the other, so Doyoung’s arms constrict even more of his torso, and Doyoung’s chest is pushed closer to his back. Doyoung fears that his heart would pierce right through with how vigorous it’s pounding.

“Tightly, okay?” Jaehyun says, almost like lulling him to sleep.

Out of the corner of his eye, Doyoung sees a pink tint on Jaehyun’s ears.

_Huh._

He doesn’t what to make of it, but it doesn’t stop his heart from pounding even more intensely.

Jaehyun is blushing? Because of what?

Too many thoughts, too little capacity to think. Everything is overwhelming, and Jaehyun cranking up the speed again certainly doesn’t help in pacifying Doyoung's disquiet at first. But it's easy, easy to become distracted with the speed that they’re going and with the way his arms are fitted around Jaehyun’s broad frame. It's oddly easy to feel secure when Doyoung knows he's hanging on Jaehyun.

Maybe the life vests weren’t really necessary after all.

Seawater frequently splashes on his face, and the wind keeps blowing unrelentingly. Doyoung's eyes are forced shut, so he chooses to succumb to the sensation, to let the exhilaration take over him and take away his inhibitions for now.

Retreats happen once in a blue moon, and traversing the sea is as rare as it gets, so when Jaehyun whoops in excitement, Doyoung screams his head off as a response, to let Jaehyun know that he’s comfortable now. The scream doesn't verbalize it, but he also wants to express how he wouldn't have this any other way.

“See? I won’t let you die on me!” Jaehyun yells.

The ride gets crazier. Jaehyun swerves an unbelievable amount of times and changes the speed unpredictably that even a slight adjustment of Doyoung’s clasp around the Jaehyun’s body will fling him into the sea. 

They occasionally come across their friends, who seem to be having as much fun as them. At one point, they catch sight of a sulky Mark floating in the sea and an entertained Donghyuck trying to stifle a laugh, while helping his boyfriend back to the vehicle.

“Donghyuck, if something eats me, I’m taking you with me.”

“You’re a baby. It’s not my fault you lost grip,” Donghyuck snaps, hauling Mark back into the jet ski.

They roam around a little more, closing in on other portions of the beach that belong to other resorts. Doyoung still has Jaehyun trapped in a hug, a bit relaxed now with the currently leisurely pace Jaehyun’s driving is at.

“Do you wanna try?” Jaehyun asks.

Doyoung figures that Jaehyun is pertaining to driving, “No, it’s fine. We couldn’t switch anyway.”

Jaehyun hits the brakes, and tries to look behind.

Doyoung is sure that if he hadn’t loosened his embrace and shied away from Jaehyun’s face at the right time, their faces would’ve collided. He has no clue about which parts of their faces would’ve bumped, but he’s certain they would’ve touched.

His evasion was arguably all for naught, however, because he loses balance and almost tips over, but at the correct time, Jaehyun grasps both of his hands and pulls it back to their previous positions.

Jaehyun’s hands are firm but soft to the touch, and Doyoung is overcome with the contact, like he could melt then and there.

He might have escaped the outcome of Jaehyun’s face grazing his, but he doesn’t escape Jaehyun’s firm hold on his hands, and consequently, his irrepressible blushing. And it appears to be, Jaehyun also doesn’t escape his too because his ears are unquestionably red.

Abruptly, Jaehyun lets go of Doyoung’s hand. 

“Actually, Taeyong-hyung said we can’t exceed thirty minutes, so I think we should head back,” Jaehyun’s voice is strained.

“Y-yeah, okay,” Doyoung mumbles back.

The engine starts. The speed at which Jaehyun drives is unhurried, so it’ll take them quite a while before they land.

They don’t speak. The wind is loud and so is the ocean, but all Doyoung hears is the throbbing in his chest while he stares at Jaehyun’s tinted ears, trying to decipher what they mean.

/////

Upon making it back to the shore, Jaehyun gives him an absurd excuse about parking the jet ski properly and waiting for the resort employee to return the key. Doyoung simply agrees and leaves with a gawky "See you later," to which Jaehyun responded to with an equally gawky "Later, hyung."

When Doyoung arrives back to his room, he plops down on his raggedy bed and considers texting Jaehyun.

**doyoung [4:15 p.m.]**

hey, have you downloaded the game

do it >:(

Doyoung tries. He talks just like the way they do when they have conversations over text. He’s being annoying about making Jaehyun play the game he’s currently addicted to. It’s nothing new. Doyoung bothers Jaehyun all the time about other things too.

When Jaehyun is awake at three in the morning, stressing over an exam that doesn’t take place until the afternoon, Doyoung is the first to yap about the hazards of sleep deprivation, especially before a test. When Jaehyun insistently attends his and Johnny’s stint as radio DJs despite post-exam exhaustion, Doyoung is there to counsel him about overworking and makes him vow to never do it again.

Jaehyun doesn’t listen, but Doyoung is there to remind him anyway.

**jaehyun [4:23 p.m.]**

i will soon hyung

That’s all what Jaehyun says. Without an exclamation point that would express some sort of eagerness. Not even an ugly emoji. There isn't a hint of snark, and it's troubling Doyoung.

Granted, a text is, most of the time, only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to conveying a message. They’re literally just words displayed on a screen. No pitch, no inflection, no vocal cues. Who knows? Jaehyun’s text could have been intended to sound lively and not exasperated. Besides, it’s not that serious, is it? Doyoung receives short messages from Jaehyun all the time.

 _This is a whole lot of thinking for a single sentence_. Doyoung concludes.

The ride was indeed only set for a half an hour. Maybe that’s all that there is to it.

Doyoung opens his game and locks away the idea of accusing Jaehyun’s peachy ears for his strangely sudden shift in attitude.

/////

**taeyong [7:01 p.m.]**

we’re having dinner by the beach, same restaurant

tell the others to come asap

btw how was your ride with jaehyun 😉

**doyoung [7:03 p.m.]**

god i hate you

did you set that up?

you still owe me for leaving me asleep

i had drool all over his shoulder, taeyong

don’t think that i wouldn’t make you pay for your crimes against me

**taeyong [7:03 p.m.]**

okay first of all, i didn’t. you two were lazy and arrived late

two. i’m sorry okay, you knew we’re both tired

and three. you’re welcome doie 🥰

**doyoung [7:04 p.m.]**

fuck you, you’re paying for room service

Doyoung announces about their dinner and goes out of the room first, carrying nothing but his phone and the tormenting anticipation of talking to Jaehyun and finding out what has gone wrong.

When he locates their table outside, Taeyong and Johnny are arguing in front of a waiter about which type of meat they would get more of, as if they're financially unable to order more of what they can eat, so Doyoung butts in and decides for them instead.

“Hi, they will get two orders of each,” Doyoung politely says and pries the menu out of Taeyong’s hands and hands it to the server, prompting him to leave.

“You owe me for that extra,” Taeyong declares.

“Actually, it’s _you_ who owes me something,” Doyoung glowers at Taeyong, taking a seat at the corner of the table, across him.

“Fine.”

Taeil, Yuta, and Sicheng arrive soon and begin ordering. Donghyuck and Mark follow, who seem to have come from a stroll along the beach because Doyoung is startled when he hears their voices without seeing them enter from the door that leads to the inside of the restaurant, which he has been discreetly eyeing since he had taken a seat. Jungwoo and Jaehyun are the only ones who haven’t showed up, and there are two seats remaining at Doyoung’s left side because everyone who had arrived after him deemed it funny to tease Doyoung and treat him like he has the plague.

There are two possibilities: Jungwoo takes the seat beside Doyoung, giving him no excuse to talk to Jaehyun personally, _or_ Jaehyun sits beside him, giving him no excuse to _not_ talk to Jaehyun. The possibilities have their pros and cons, but Doyoung runs out of time to ruminate on them because Jungwoo and Jaehyun come into view and the second possibility becomes his reality.

Doyoung surmises that the dinner would be way uncomfortable if no words are spoken between him and Jaehyun, so he yields and attempts to begin the conversation.

“Hey,” he murmurs.

“Hi, hyung,” Jaehyun murmurs at the same time.

They share faint smiles.

“I’ll download the game tonight, hyung. Don’t worry,” Jaehyun seems a little withdrawn, but his eyes are bright, so Doyoung is a little hopeful that they’re on their way back to their pre-jet-ski-ride dynamic, that is, a jocular Jaehyun and a shy Doyoung.

The conversation could have ended there, but Doyoung's not sure if he can last the whole dinner having Jaehyun completely silent beside him. What he's sure about, however, is that he can't have Jaehyun turn awkward with him entirely, even when they text. It hasn't even been a day since that unusually cold message, and Doyoung's worried sick about losing a friendship over something he's ninety percent sure he's just overthinking. So, Doyoung decides to put his big-boy pants on and speak in the same manner he does when he texts. 

“You better or I’ll get your phone and download it for you.”

Doyoung thinks it came out a little too hostile, but a second passes and Jaehyun slowly squints at him, goading him on, “Do it then.”

Doyoung feels a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Everything's fine. Jaehyun isn't being weird anymore.

“Okay, lovebirds. Let’s pause for a minute, shall we? The two of you haven’t ordered and the food is starting to arrive,” Johnny breaks the weird tension Jaehyun and Doyoung have going on, startling them.

Typically, the stimulus Doyoung would have during a situation like this is to look down and blush like crazy.

He still does the latter, but his glance immediately travels to Jaehyun’s red ears, and then his uniformly red cheeks. He finds Jaehyun’s eyes, also seemingly fixated on his warm cheeks.

Doyoung feels naked.

When Jaehyun finally looks up to meet his glance, he doesn’t miss it. There’s an inexplicable glint in Jaehyun’s eyes, and Doyoung feels his heart in his throat, his pulse racing at an even quicker pace than hours ago when he was at the highest risk of dying at sea.

The moment is frighteningly intimate, but it ends before Doyoung even knows it and changes into something more light-hearted.

When Jaehyun dons a purse-lipped smile, not allowing a laugh to make it past his lips, Doyoung doesn’t contain himself either and smiles back, huffing air through his nose.

“You go first,” Doyoung speaks up first, handing a menu to Jaehyun.

“I’m getting whatever you’re getting,” Jaehyun replies, maintaining eye contact.

“You’re unbelievable. The both of you.”

They hear Johnny sigh in resignation, but they don’t look at him. They keep their eyes on each other, their faces still palpably red and their mouths stretched in wide, impish grins.

Doyoung finds he doesn’t really mind Jaehyun's presence anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i guess i update every two weeks now...
> 
> happy belated birthday to jaehyun :^) i hope he had a blast
> 
> as usual, unbeta-ed. kind comments are very appreciated!!
> 
> 'til next time! find me on twt: @littleroute


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